Introductory texts

A review of liberal basics

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Th e following d iagram s hows a s election of values 2 tha t a re importa nt for each o f the th ree politica l mainstreams : socialism, lib eralis m and co nservatism:

Th ese values are lin ked to a core value and to each other in v ery obvious ways an d form value sys tems . Here a re s ome examples of these linkages: Libera ls focu s on freedom (or liberty wh ich is the same th ing). It is their co re value. Wh en libera ls ta lk abou t freedom they talk abo ut th e freedom of the ind ividual .

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T ext : St efan Melnik

T h er e a re mo re, of c o urse . So me oth er i mp or ta n t va lu es a r e men t i on ed in th e t ex t b e lo w.

Freedo m and ind ividual resp onsibility a re inext ricably linked. T heres no responsib ility without freedom and no freedom without respo nsibility. To lerance is a p recondition fo r freedom a nd for commitment to human rights. Protection of human rights means protection of freedom. Po litica l rights are part of our freedom just a s economic rights , eg, th e righ t to pro perty, a re. Th e conservativ e v alue system emph asises order, t rad ition and cons erv ation (which is the bas is for order). Important c onservativ e v alu es includ e: discipline, auth ority , hiera rchy, stability and unity 3. Con servatives tend to focus on issues s uch as the nation, th e famil y and morality. Perceived threats to thei r integrity stem, so conservatives claim, from dis rega rd fo r order and tradition. Socialis ts emph asise equality and the values rela ted thereto. When they discuss equality, they not o nly emphas is e a level playing field but a lso en vis age equa l outcomes, somethin g that is termed social justice. Hence their p reoccup ation with red istrib ution, s ocia l secu rity and th e minimisation of ris k. Liberty and p rivate p roperty mus t be rest ricted because, in th eir view , they ten d to gen erate or perpetuate di fference and inequa lity. Collect ive o wn ers hip an d collective decision-mak ing are the bes t safegua rds against a n un equal an d un jus t society. Des pite differences in th e cultu res we come from and d ifferent political histories, we hav e a common understanding of th e bas ic values of each of these political mainstreams . Th ere is an important libe ra l va lue that is often forgotten and yet it is implicit in many of th e things libera ls strive for: it is EDUCATION. A few co mmen ts on education: We s houldn't fo rget that liberalism is a produ ct of en li ghtenment The libe ral co mmitmen t to th e individual doesn't stop at the notion that the individual is the bes t jud ge of his /her own interests. The commitment to the individu al in clu des commitment to maximising oppo rtunities and commitment to s elf- fu l fi lment. T his imp lies education. Progress as a lib eral v alu e is inconceivable w ithout ed ucation .

T h e con tr a sti ng lib e ra l va lue i s d iver si ty .

Wh en libera ls talk abou t educa tion they don't mean "lea rning by rote," but "lea rning to decide for on eself."

Th ere a re di fferent l iberal t raditions throu ghout the world, and sometimes ev en with in a s in gle cou ntry, but all li berals whether "lib erta rian", "clas sical libe ral" o r "social lib era l" have a common denominator: they believe in putting f reedom and the individual first . Cons iderable d ifferences are also to be foun d within other politica l mainstrea ms [the d ifferences between o rthod ox Marxis m and the s ocial democracy of New Labou r (United Kingdom) are considerable]. Chris tian Democra t and G reen philos ophies are hyb rid in na ture. Frequently, they rep res ent mixtures of conservative and socialis t value systems. Liberals s ubscribe to the central values of the French Revolution - "lib erty", "equality" and "fra ternity" but, in contras t to th e s ocialist tradition, subor dinate equ ality and f rater nity to liberty . Equa lity and fratern ity a ls o mean different th ings : for lib era ls "equa lity", fo r instance, trans la tes into equ ality befo re the law , optimal opportunities for a ll , no systematic and enforced p refe rences , and universal s uffrage . "Fraternity" is expres sed in tolerance an d respect for h uman d ignity. The mos t important disting uishing f eature of liberalism is t hat it distr usts decisions made on behal f of collective entitie s , whether these en tities are natio ns , class es , [eg, the "working class"], ca stes , religious grou ps [Hindus, Mos lems , Ch ristians ], civil services , b usiness es , employees , gen eratio ns [eg, pensioners a nd future pen sio ners ]. A ll such decis ions tend to wa rds arbit ra rin ess in that they ign ore diffe ren ces within su ch an entity, overloo k individ ual needs and create new injustices. Libera lism with its focus on the individual is the most radica l a lte rnativ e to co llectiv ist convictions [see following ill us tration].